Case for electric piano including speaker enclosure



July 2, 1968 c. w. ANDERSEN CASE FOR ELECTRIC PIANO INCLUDING SPEAKER ENCLOSURE Original Filed Oct. 14. 1955 CZM/ard W United States Patent ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An electric piano having an upper portable piano case, including all of the piano actions and tone generating mechanism, detachably connected to an underlying reflex type speaker enclosure including a loudspeaker, the speaker enclosure serving as a support for the piano case.

This invention is concerned with the musical arts, particularly with an electronic piano, and most specifically with a case therefor.

. This application is a division of my copending application Ser. No. 540,530, filed Oct. 14, 1956, now abandoned, and a continuation of my copending application Ser. No. 58,782, filed Sept. 27, 1960.

The pianoforte, or piano, as it is generally termed, is an extremely popular musical instrument and is found substantially throughout the civilized world. The piano in its conventional form is quite large and heavy. Consequently, it is difiicult to move a conventional piano, and a piano generally is limited to use in first floor locations, generally in the largest room in the house. This can be extremely undesirable from the standpoint of the student or casual pianist, and also from the standpoint of other persons occupying the same residence.

As a result, it has been proposed that the size and Weight of a piano be reduced by the provision of an electronic piano. It is known that a tuned reed having an electrical potential applied to it and vibrated near a conductive member will form with that member a variable capacitor giving rise to an electrical oscillation which can be translated into a musical tone. I have found that when such a reed is percussively actuated, remarkably realistic piano tones can be produced if the various elements of the electronic piano are properly correlated, and the electrical oscillations generated are properly amplified and converted into audio oscillations. This invention is concerned with an electronic piano of this type.

An object to this invention is to provide a reflex type speaker housing capable of attachment to a portable electronic piano case and forming a part of the support for the case.

Another object for this invention is to provide a speaker enclosure in accordance with the preceding object wherein the speaker enclosure incorporates a forte pedal mechanism.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a piano showing the speaker enclosure assembled therewith in accordance with the invention;

'FIG. 2 is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 2;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the piano case and speaker housing as taken substantially along the line 3'3 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the piano case and speaker housing.

A modification of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 1 4 embodying the use of a separate or auxiliary speaker and cabinet. Most of the piano remains exactly as heretofore has been described, and to avoid prolixity of description the similar parts are identified by the same numerals as were used heretofore with the addition of the sufiix a. The piano diifers in the elimination of the two rear legs, the two front legs 42a remaining on the piano.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, specifically to FIG. 1, an electronic piano indicated generally by the numeral 30a will be seen to include a case 32a and a keyboard 34a. The keyboard 34a comprises a plurality of keys 36a; and a wire music rack 40a is mounted to a fallboard assembly above the keys 36a. Front legs 42a support the case 32a in conjunction with an auxiliary speaker cabinet 340.

Beneath the rear of the piano there is detachably provided the auxiliary speaker cabinet 340 which hasa large loud-speaker 3'42 there-in. The cabinet is of the same height as the legs 42a so as to support the rear of the piano in proper position. The cabinet is of rectangular horizontal section, and the rear Wall 344 thereof is vertical and conveniently is set-in slightly from the rear of the piano case. The front 346 of the auxiliary speaker cabinet is inclined so that the bottom of the enclosure is less depth than the top. Similarly, the sides 348 are inclined, the enclosure 340' having a maximum width at the top, and a minimum at the bottom. The speaker 342 is mounted behind an aperture 350 in the front of the enclosure, and this aperture preferably is covered with grille cloth or the like 352. The speaker cabinet is provided on the side Walls 348 near the top thereof with parts 352 and is provided in the back 344 with rows of ports 354 near the top and bottom of the back. The speaker enclosure is held on the underside of the piano case by means of screws or bolts 356 extending upwardly through the top wall of the enclosure and threaded into T-nuts 358 in the bottom of the piano case.

The loudspeaker 342 may be connected to the amplifier by means of internal, hidden connections, or more conveniently a cable 360 may extend from the enclosure 340 near the top thereof, the cable being provided with a plug received in a jack amongst the controls 50a on the end of the piano case. The loudspeaker 342 thus may be driven directly from the amplifier within the piano case, or the amplifier within the piano case may be connected by means such as the cable 360 to an amplifier 362 within the enclosure 340, the speaker 342 then being driven by the amplifier 362. The amplifier 362 may have a higher power output, or it may be one designed to provide unique eifects which cannot be obtained by the amplifier within the piano case. It will be understood that a flexible power cord (not shown) would lead from the amplifier 362 to a plug for insertion in a wall socket or the like.

In addition to the loudspeaker 342, which may be arranged to reproduce sounds concurrently with a loudspeaker in the piano case when one is provided or instead of such a speaker in the piano case, and in addition to an amplifier, the enclosure 340 conveniently incorporates a forte pedal mechanism 44a. The pedal mechanism 44a has a housing 298a and a lever 306a having a projecting toe portion 312a, the housing having a slot 310a accommodating the lever. The lever is pivoted intermediate its ends as at 364 and is connected pivotally at its rear end as at 366 to a push rod 368. The push rod 386 extends through an aperture 370 in the top of the enclosure 340, and through an aligned aperture 372 in the bottom of the piano case. Either or both of these openings may be provided with bushings if so desired. A collar or stop 374 is secured near the top of the push rod, and the upper end a of the push rod extends through the end of a laterally extending arm 376. This arm is held against the stop 374 by means such as a nut 378 threaded on the extremity of the push rod.

The laterally extending arm 376 is pivotally connected to an adjustable link 378, and this link at its upper end is pivotally connected to a lever 380 fixed on the end of a cross-shaft 382. The cross-shaft 382 is rotatably journaled in a pair of brackets 384 on the inside of the rear wall of the piano case and on opposite sides of the loudspeaker louver 170a. The brackets and cross-shaft are positioned to clear the loudspeaker within the piano case, so that it is unnecessary to remove the loudspeaker when installing this linkage.

The opposite end .of the cross-shaft 382 is provided with an upstanding link 386 pivoted to a connecting rod rod link 388. It will be observed that the levers 380 and 386 are at right angles to one another. The opposite end of the connecting rod or link 388 is pivotally connected to a lever 390, and this lever in turn is fixed on a split sleeve 392 fitting over the end of the eccentric pivot 132a for the damper release rod 130a.

The auxiliary speaker enclosure 340 is readily attached to, or detached from, the piano case. The back of the enclosure is held in place by means of screws 394, and these are readily removed for removing the back. The studs or screws 356 thus are readily accessible for securing or releasing the enclosure to or from the piano'case. Similarly, the top of the piano case readily is removed by removing the screws therefrom, and the nut 278 then readily can be reached for attaching or detaching the push rod 368 and laterally extending arm 376.

Operation of the forte pedal is as follows. Depression of the toe portion 312a pivots the lever 306a; and this, in turn, raises the push rod 368 and the transversally extending arm 376. This causes the link 378 to move up and to pivot the levers 380 and 386 to move the connecting rod or link 388 toward the front of the piano case, thereby pivoting the lever 390 and sleeve 392 to effect eccentric pivotal motion of the damper release rod 130a for releasing or retracting all of the dampers.

It will be appreciated that the width of the top of the loudspeaker enclosure is somewhat less than the width of the piano.

The specific examples herein shown and described are to be understood as being for illustrative purposes only. Various changes in structure will no doubt occur to those skilled in the art, and such changes are to be understood as coming within the scope of the invention insofar as they fall within the purview .of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an electronic piano, the combination comprising a case, a keyboard at the front of said case, tone generating means in said case including means for providing electric oscillations corresponding to musical tones, means connecting the keys of said keyboard and said tone generating means for controlling the generation of said electric oscillations, a cabinet structure disposed beneath the rear portion of said case and including a front panel making juncture with said case at a location rearwardly of said keyboard, said panel being inclined downwardly and rearwardly from said juncture to a relatively narrow base adapted to rest on a supporting surface and defining space for accommodating the lower extremities of a person 0ccupied in playing the piano, sidewalls spaced inwardly from the side portions of the case and inclined inwardly and downwardly therefrom, legs connected to said case and underlying the keyboard adjacent the sides of the case and outwardly from said cabinet structure, said legs being adapted to rest on the supporting surface well in advance of and outwardly of said base and operating in conjunction with said narrow base to support the case in stable position on the supporting surface, said cabinet structure further having a back panel whereby said cabinet structure is substantially completely enclosed and forms an acoustic loudspeaker enclosure, and a loudspeaker mounted therein on said front panel, said front panel being apertured in line with said loudspeaker for sound emanation therefrom.

2. In an electronic piano, the combination set forth in claim 1 and further including detachable fastening means securing said case on said cabinet structure for separation and separate transportation of said case and cabinet structure, a foot pedal carried by said cabinet structure, an elongated control member secured to said foot pedal and extending through said cabinet structure and into said case, and detachable connecting means connecting said control member to operating parts of said piano within said case.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS (Mag), (pp. 48 to 50), July 1952.

ARTHUR GAUSS, Primary Examiner. D. D. FORRER, Assistant Examiner. 

